President / Présidente Prof. Anna GURAL-MIGDAL

Born in Fontainebleau, France, Anna Gural-Migdal has studied at the Université de Paris IV (France) and the Université de Montréal (Canada). In 1991, she received her Ph.D. from the Department of French Studies at the Université de Montréal. Her thesis, entitled "Fonction et Fonctionnement de la métaphore dans Le Ventre de Paris dÉmile Zola," was awarded a Mention Très Bien by the Jury.

Presently, as a Full Professor in the Department of Modern Languages and Cultural Studies at the University of Alberta, she teaches French Literature and Cinema. Prior to this, she was Assistant Professor in the Department of French Studies at York University (Toronto, Canada) and Lecturer in the Department of Comparative Literature at the Université de Montréal.

Specializing in Émile Zola and worldwide Naturalism, Anna Gural-Migdal also conducts research in semiotics, literary theory, and film theory. Her research underscores the value of interdisciplinary approaches, particularly the relationship between literature and cinema. She speaks five languages fluently.

She has received a number of grants, fellowships, and distinctions: "Fondation Birks," "Bourse d'excellence" from Université de Montréal, "Ministère des Affaires intergouvernementales du Québec," "Heritage Canada," "Research Grant" from York University, "Harriet Winspear-Sheila Watson Fellowship" from the University of Alberta, and "SSHRC Grants." She also received a Grant from the Italian government and the Università di Urbino (Italy) to continue her studies in Semiotics.

Anna Gural-Migdal is the President of the Association internationale Zola et Naturalisme (AIZEN) and the Editor of the International Review, Excavatio. She is the recipient of the 2013 University of Alberta Faculty of Arts Undergraduate Teaching Award. In July 2013, she was knighted in the Order of the Academic Palms by France’s Minister of Education: www.mlcs.ualberta.ca/en/News/2013/August/DrAnnaGural-MigdalHonoured.aspx.